Shoe counter



Oct. 6, 1942.

G. s. COLELLA SHOE COUNTER Filed March 25; 1942 Patented Oct. 6, 1942 Gerald S. Colella,

Haverhill, Mass, assignor of one-half to Merker Counter Company, Haverhill, Mass., a corporation Application March 25, 1942, Serial No. 436,071

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, and more particularly to an improved counter and method of applying the same.

Conventional shoe counters usually consist of leather, pressed fiber board, or other stiff, shaperetaining material moulded to conform approximately to the contour of the rear portion of a last. The various styles and sizes require different last contours, but the best that can usually be obtained, as a practical matter, is an approximate fit for any particular last; in all cases the lasting operation is relied upon to effect as precise conformity as is possible.

Since the counter material is stiff and intractable, it is not always easy permanently to conform the counter to the complex curvature of the last during the lasting operation. Especially is this true of the extension counters now largely used in shoes of the better grades. These extension counters extend not only around the heel, but, at the inner side at least of the shoe, they reach along the shank well forward toward the ball of the foot. In womens shoes of the deep shank type it is extremely difficult to cause both the side wall and flange of the counter extension to flt snugly against the last at the shank portion. The flange tends, by reason of its stiffness, to bridge across the concave last bottom and, if the flange be pressed down into the concavity of the last, then the forward and upper edges of the counter tend to swing out away from the last, producing a very poor fit and appearance. In order to avoid or minimize this diirlculty it has been previously suggested to notch and/or slot the inner margin of the flange of the contour, thereby to reduce its resiliency and permit it to be conformed more readily to the last surface. While this procedure makes the flange more flexible, it also weakens it and invites tearing if, during lasting, the flange be subjected to longitudinal stress. In accordance with the present invention this method of making the flange flexibleis employed but it is so modified and improved that the flange is not unduly weakened, and danger of tearing is minimized. Counters having flexible flanges thus made in accordance with the present invention are capable of being conformed to thelast so readily and perfectly that whereas usual prior practice necessitates a substantial number of counter moulds corresponding to different heights and widths of last,'only a few counter moulds sufflce for preparing these improved counters for a wide range of styles and sizes.

In making the finer grades of shoe it is always fore or during lasting,

which permanently retains to it after the lasting operation Principal objects of thepresent invention are to overcome the aforementioned difficulties common to the employment of counters of the prior art and to provide an improved counter having the desirable characteristics just above referred to and a simple and efficient method of applying such a counter so as to insure a precise conformity to the last and permanent retention of the lasted shape.

Further objects will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an extension counter embodying the present invention, the counter being of that kind which extends forwardly along both sides of the shoe at the shank;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2, respectively, but showing a counter having a forward extension at one side only; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the counter of Fig. 3 assembled with an insole upon a last.

' In accordance with the present invention, the counter body may be of fiber board or the like relatively stiff resilient material formed to provide the usual upstanding rear and side walls and the inwardly extending bottom flange which is provided, at least adjacent to the inner shank portion, with a plurality of inwardly directed slots preferably of keyhole shape, each of which terminates inwardly of the inner and outer edges of the flange, respectively, so that the slots are effective to render the flange sufliciently flexible to conform precisely with the contour of the last without so weakening the flange that it will ordinarily tear during lasting, it being noted that the inner margin of the flange is thus left intact.

In addition to the slots, I may also provide means effective to maintain the contour or shape of the last, and to this end I provide a liner of relatively porous material disposed along the inner face of the counter, at least at the lower part of the body of the counter and the slotted portion of the flange, this liner being impregnated with a substance such as a cellulose ester, a cellulose ether, or other resin-like thermoplastic material which is normally stiff, but capable of being softened either by the application of heat or a suitable solvent. When such a liner is softened, either before or after assembly with and application to the last, it becomes flaccid and hence readily mouldable, but upon cooling or the evaporation of the solvent (as the case may be), it assumes a set condition in which it is effective to impart substantial rigidity .to the counter and furthermore is capable of maintaining the counter in conformity with the contour of the last. 7

Where, as is preferred, the counter is formed with slots and also provided with a liner as above indicated, the counter may be assembled with the shoe upper and lasted in the conventional manner, except that the aforementioned softening step is employed. These slots permit the counter and associated upper readily to conform to the contour of the last during assembly and lasting. Preferably, the slots are of the keyhole shape here illustrated, for if the continuous inner edge of the margin should break during lasting, the eyelets at the inner ends of the slots serve to stop any tendency to tear beyond that point.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral l designates a counter body which may be of fiber board or the like materiaL'formed with an inwardly extending bottom flangeZ, the counter body having been premoulded to conform approximately with the contour of a last. In this embodiment the counter comprises a forward extension I at each side, and spaced, inwardly directed keyhole slots 4, are distributed along the entire length of the flange, the extremities of these slots being located inwardly of the inner and outer edges, respectively, of the flange 2, thereby leaving intact the margins of the flange.

The inner faces of the'body portion of the counter and the flange 2 are provided with a liner 5 which may consist ofa woven, knitted, or felted fabric impregnated withpyroxylin, cellulose acetate, ethyl cellulose, or the like material which is moisture impervious and normally hard and stiff, but which may be softened by the application of heat of the order of 200 to 400 F. or of a suitable solvent. By reason of the great rigidity imparted by such stiffening materials, in the quantity which is readily incorporated in a porous fabric, both counter body and lining may be made quite thin, so that the composite, completed counter, although very stiff, may be thinner than usual counters consisting only of moulded leather, fiber board or the like.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 5 the counter I has a forward extension at its inner side only designed to reach forwardly along the shank portion of the shoe toward the ball of the foot, and the flange Z extends around the counter proper and also along this extension. In this embodiment the keyhole slots 4 are confined to the forward extension and the liner 5 is confined to the lower margin of the body of the counter and the entire extent of the flange 2 When a counter constructed in accordance with the present invention is applied to a last, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the keyhole slots permit thefiange and adjacent parts of the body portion to the counter and maintains precise conformity with the contour of the last even after the tacks have been withdrawn and the shoe removed from the last.

While I have shown and described different desirable embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the puriii pose of illustration and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of the parts, as well as the substitution-of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An extension counter of dense fibrous material for use with deep shank shoes, said counter comprising side and rear walls and an inwardly directed bottom flange, that portion at least of the flange which is designed to extend along the shank of the shoe having therein spaced slits extending transversely of the flange and through the entire thickness thereof so as to make the flange flexible, the ends of the slits being spaced fromthe inner and outer edges, respectively, of the flange, thereby to leave both margins of the flange intact.

2. An extension counter of organic fibrous material for use with deep shank shoes, said counter comprising side and rear walls and an inwardly directed bottom flange, that portion at least of the flange which is designed to extend along the shank of the shoe having therein narrow slots spaced longitudinally of the flange. said slots being of keyhole shape, the ends of each slot being spaced from the inner and outer edges respectively of the flange so as to leave both margins of the flange intact, the eyelet ends of the slots being operative to limit tearing of the flange beyond said latter ends.

3. A thin and light-weight shoe counter comprising-a moulded body portion of relatively dense fibrous material, said body portion being of insufiicient inherent stifinessto constitute an acceptable counter and having an inturned flange along its lower edge, said'body portion and'flange being shaped to conform approximately to the contour of the rear portion of the last, and a layer-of relatively porous fibrous material constituting a liner disposed along the inner face of said body portion, said liner being impregnated with 'a substance which is normally stiff, but

which may be temporarily softened by the application of heat or solvent but which is impervious :to moisture, said liner, after having been softened, being capable of assuming a set condition,the' impregnant stiffening substance being in such amount that when set it becomes effective to impart substantial rigidity to the entire counter and to maintain the counter in conformity v with the contour of the last.

' GERALD S. 'COLELLA. 

